FAQ

FAQ for Landowners + Royalty Owners:

Q: I recently purchased property that I believe is under lease with Geopetro LLC. What do I need to do?

A: We will need to verify your ownership of the property, so you will need to send us a copy of a recorded deed showing transfer of ownership. If it is determined that you are entitled to receive royalties, you will need to also provide us with a completed IRS Form W-9 with your tax ID number. This is a requirement of the IRS and, without this information, we are required to withhold 28% of all revenue payable.

Q: I recently sold property that is under lease with Geopetro LLC. What do I need to do?

A: Please contact our office to let us know that you no longer own the property. If you have retained the mineral rights to the property, please send us a copy of the deed transfer.

Q: When should I expect to receive my IRS Form 1099?

A: The 1099 forms will be mailed in January of each year. If you have not received your 1099 by mid-February, please contact our office.

Q: Why does my payment amount change?

A: There are several reasons why royalty payments may change, including: market conditions that cause fluctuations in oil and gas prices, production volumes that naturally decline over time, and operational problems that may lead to production down time.

Q: My lease is expired. Will you be renewing it?

A: Leases that have expired that are not already part of a drilling unit will not be extended by Geopetro. For those expired leases, we will prepare the Release of Oil and Gas Lease in accordance with state statutes. If you live in Ohio, the release will be recorded with the county recorder’s office. If you live in Pennsylvania, the release will be sent to you in the proper format so that you may have it recorded if you so choose.

For leases with expiration dates prior to when Geopetro took over operations at the end of October, 2016, the determination has not yet been made as to whether Chesapeake or Geopetro will be preparing the releases. This page will be updated once that determination has been made.

Q: I received a Release of Oil and Gas Lease. What do I do with it?

A: You received this document because your lease has expired without development and, pursuant to Pennsylvania statute, we are required to provide to you a Release of Oil and Gas Lease in recordable form. You have the option of having the document recorded at the County Recorder of Deeds office (there is a fee associated with recording), or you could simply retain this document for your records. We encourage you, however, to file the Release of Oil and Gas Lease in the county courthouse. In the event that you would transfer your property ownership or want to lease the mineral rights to another producer, this would be the evidence that the mineral rights are no longer under lease with Chesapeake or Geopetro.

Q: I would like to receive my statement and/or check electronically. Is that available?

A: Yes, we would encourage you to consider receiving your royalty statements in electronic (PDF) format and having your royalties directly deposited into your bank account. If you are interested in signing up for “paperless” processing, please click here to complete an “Authorization for Direct Deposit & Electronic Statement Delivery Form” and return it to us by email, fax, or regular postal mail.

Q: Why didn’t I get a check this month?

A: If you’ve received royalty checks in the past but not this month, it is probably for one of the following reasons: (1) the well or wells you receive royalties from did not produce in the month for which royalties were paid; (2) your royalty share amount was less than the minimum check amount set for your account.

Q: My royalties are being held in suspense. What do I need to do to get them released from suspense?

A: There are a number of reasons that royalties might be held in suspense. Please contact our office to determine the particular reason for your suspense status and what is needed to resolve the matter.

Q: Chesapeake had a mortgage on my property. Why is it still showing in the records of the Recorder of Deeds if Chesapeake no longer owns the lease?

A: To clarify, the mortgage that Chesapeake had against the lease was not a mortgage on your deed or your property, but only on the oil and gas rights. The leases were used by Chesapeake as collateral for financing and were listed individually with the mortgage. That mortgage has been satisfied, but the leases and properties were not listed individually in the Release of Mortgage, and therefore not indexed in the Recorder’s records as such. The Release of Mortgage document simply references the instrument number of the mortgage; it has been recorded and Chesapeake’s mortgage against your oil and gas rights has been released.

If your lease is in Beaver County, Pennsylvania and the instrument number on the mortgage was 3453668 or 3457824, then the instrument number of the Release of Mortgage is 3486888. If your lease is in Columbiana County, Ohio and the instrument number on the mortgage was 2015-00014216, then the instrument number of the Release of Mortgage is 2016-00011150.

Q: If only a portion of my acreage is included in a drilling unit, can the rest of the acres be released?

A: If your lease contains a Pugh clause, the terms of that clause determine when and if the acres outside of a drilling unit are released. If your lease does not contain a Pugh clause, then all the acres under lease are typically held by production from a drilling unit.